Download Habitual Behaviour

CLASSICAL CONDITIONIONG
CENTRAL CONCEPTS
Habitual Behaviour
Habitual behaviour is a form of automatic and routine behaviour. It is behaviour that people repeat, because this
behaviour is easy, comfortable or rewarding. Habitual behaviour's automatically character is demonstrated by the
fact that it is often started by a cue or a change in the situation. It is efficient to do something by habit, and not to
constantly reason with oneself about what is the best thing to do. The intrinsic advantages of the behaviour
outweigh the possible disadvantages. ‘Intrinsic' because, in the case of habitual behaviour, there is no constant
weighing of pros and cons.
http://www.cres.gr/behave/framework_theory_2.htm
A reflex reaction is something that your body does in response to a stimuli, such as a hit or a scare. You personally
have no conscious control over the reaction. Like when someone hits your knee and your leg bounces, or when you
touch a hot stove and you instantly draw your hand away. It’s a reaction that your brain doesn’t have to think about,
your body just does it automatically. It’s called a reflex because it is not something you think about doing like picking
up an apple, it’s something your body does all on its own whether you think about it or not!
http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061005062059AAzK5J0
In classical conditioning, the unconditioned response is the unlearned response that occurs naturally in
response to the unconditioned stimulus. For example, if the smell of food is the unconditioned stimulus, the feeling
of hunger in response to the smell of food is the unconditioned response.
Some more examples of unconditioned responses include:
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Gasping in pain after being stung by a bee.
Jerking your hand back after touching a hot plate on the oven.
Jumping at the sound of a loud noise.
In each of the above example, the response occurs naturally and automatically.
http://psychology.about.com/od/uindex/g/uncondstim.htm
In classical conditioning, the unconditioned stimulus (US) is one that unconditionally, naturally, and
automatically triggers a response. For example, when you smell one of your favorite foods, you may immediately
feel very hungry. In this example, the smell of the food is the unconditioned stimulus.
Some more examples of the unconditioned stimulus include:
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A feather tickling your nose causes you to sneeze. The feather tickling your nose is the unconditioned
stimulus.
Pollen from grass and flowers causes you to sneeze. The pollen from the grass and flowers is the
unconditioned stimulus.
In each of these examples, the US naturally triggers an unconditioned response. You don't have to learn to
respond to the US.
http://psychology.about.com/od/uindex/g/unconditioned.htm
In psychology, extinction refers to the gradual weakening of a conditioned response that results in the behavior
decreasing or disappearing.
In classical conditioning, this happens when a conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with an unconditioned
stimulus.
http://psychology.about.com/od/eindex/g/extinction.htm
In classical conditioning, the reappearance of the conditioned response after a rest period or period of lessened
response. If the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are no longer associated, extinction will occur
very rapidly after a spontaneous recovery.
For example, in Ivan Pavlov's classic experiment, dogs were conditioned to salivate to the sound of a tone. Pavlov
also noted that no longer pairing the tone with the presentation of food led to extinction of the salivation response.
However, after a two hour rest period, the salivation response suddenly reappeared when the tone was presented.
Spontaneous recovery demonstrates that extinction is not the same thing as unlearning. While the response might
disappear, that does not meant that it has been forgotten or eliminated.
In conditioning, stimulus generalization is the tendency for the conditioned stimulus to evoke similar responses
after the response has been conditioned. For example, if a child has been conditioned to fear a stuffed white
rabbit, it will exhibit fear of objects similar to the conditioned stimulus such as a white toy rat.
In the classic Little Albert experiment, researchers John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner conditioned a little boy to
fear a white rat. The researchers observed that the boy experienced stimulus generalization by showing fear in
response to similar stimuli including a dog, a rabbit, a fur coat, a white Santa Claus beard and even Watson's own
hair.
Stimulus generalization can occur in both classical conditioning and operant conditioning. However, a subject
can be taught to discriminate between similar stimuli and to only respond to a specific stimulus. For example,
imagine that a dog has been trained to run to his owner when he hears a whistle. After the dog has been
conditioned, he might respond to a variety sounds that are similar to the whistle. Because the trainer wants the
dog to respond only to the specific sound of the whistle, the trainer can work with the animal to teach him to
discriminate between different sounds. Eventually, the dog will respond only to the whistle and not to other tones.
In another classic experiment conducted in 1921, researcher Shenger-Krestovnika paired the taste of meat (the
unconditioned stimulus) with the sight of a circle. The dogs then learned to salivate (the conditioned response)
when they saw the circle. Researchers also observed that the dogs would begin to salivate when presented with an
ellipse, which was similar but slightly different that the circle shape. After failing to pair the sight of the ellipse with
the taste of meat, the dogs were able to eventually discriminate between the circle and ellipse.
http://psychology.about.com/od/sindex/g/stimgen.htm
PHOBIAS & CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Phobias can be acquired through classical conditioning by pairing a neutral stimulus with something that
really causes pain. Phobia responses can be permanent unless the organism is subjected to the extinction
process. In the extinction process, one must confront the fear without the presence of the unconditioned
stimulus. For example, in Watson’s experiment, Little Albert developed a phobia of white rats (and other
furry objects) as a result of pairing the white rat with a loud bang. The phobia could have been extinguished
by repeatedly exposing Little Albert to the white rat without the loud bang. Another way to extinguish a
phobia is through counter conditioning. In counter conditioning, the conditioned stimulus is paired with a
pleasant stimulus. Little Albert could have extinguished his phobia of the white rat by pairing it with
something pleasant (e.g., food, praise).
PHOBIAS & OPERANT CONDITIONING
Phobias can be acquired through operant conditioning by reinforcement. Phobias can be learned through
operant conditioning by repeatedly reinforcing avoidance of a mildly fearful situation. For example, if a
person has a mild fear of flying and his/her spouse agrees to drive instead of fly, the person's fear of flying
has been reinforced and may develop into a phobia.
Phobias can be maintained by operant conditioning through negative reinforcement. When a person is
confronted with the object or situation of his/her phobia, the person tends to get anxious and avoid the object
or situation. The anxiety is reduced, but by avoiding the object or situation, the avoidance behavior is
negatively reinforced and the phobia is maintained. For example, a person who has a phobia of flying, will
maintain that phobia until he/she flies.
http://www3.niu.edu/acad/psych/Millis/History/2003/phobias.htm
Systematic Desensitization
Systematic desensitization is a type of behavioral therapy based on the principle of classical conditioning. It
was developed by Wolpe during the 1950s.
This therapy aims to remove the fear response of a phobia, and substitute a relaxation response to the
conditional stimulus gradually using counter conditioning.
This is done by forming a hierarchy of fear, involving the conditioned stimulus (e.g. a spider), that are
ranked from least fearful to most fearful. The patient works their way up starting at the least unpleasant and
practicing their relaxation technique as they go. When they feel comfortable with this (they are no longer
afraid) they move on to the next stage in the hierarchy.
Thus, for example, a spider phobic might regard one small, stationary spider 5 meters away as only modestly
threatening, but a large, rapidly moving spider 1 meter away as highly threatening. The client reaches a state
of deep relaxation, and is then asked to imagine (or is confronted by) the least threatening situation in the
anxiety hierarchy.
The client repeatedly imagines (or is confronted by) this situation until it fails to evoke any anxiety at all,
indicating that the therapy has been successful. This process is repeated while working through all of the
situations in the anxiety hierarchy until the most anxiety-provoking.
The patient is also given training in relaxation techniques. E.g. control over breathing, muscle
detensioning. However, studies have shown that neither relaxation nor hierarchies are necessary, and that the
important factor is just exposure to the feared object or situation.
The number of sessions required depends on the severity of the phobia. Usually 4-6 sessions, up to 12 for a
severe phobia. The therapy is complete once the agreed therapeutic goals are met (not necessarily when the
person’s fears have been completely removed).
Exposure can be done in two ways:
· In vitro – the client imagines exposure to the phobic stimulus
· In vivo – the client is actually exposed to the phobic stimulus
Critical Evaluation
· Systematic Desensitization is highly effective where the problem is a learned anxiety of specific
objects/situations (e.g. phobias).
· Systematic Desensitization is a slow process. Although, research suggests that the longer the
technique takes the more effective it is.
· Systematic Desensitization is not effective in treating serious mental disorders like depression and
schizophrenia.
· However, it only treats the symptoms of the disorder, not the underlying cause.
References
Wolpe, J. (1958). Psychotherapy by reciprocal inhibition. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
http://www.simplypsychology.org/Systematic-Desensitisation.html
Aversion therapy is a form of treatment that utilizes behavioral principles to eliminate unwanted behavior. In
this therapeutic method, the unwanted stimulus is repeatedly paired with discomfort. The goal of the conditioning
process is to make the individual associate the stimulus with unpleasant or uncomfortable sensations.
During aversion therapy, the client may be asked to think of or engage in the behavior they enjoy while at the
same time being exposed to something unpleasant such as a bad taste, a foul smell, or even mild electric shocks.
Once the unpleasant feelings become associated with the behavior, the hope is that the unwanted behaviors or
actions will begin to decrease in frequency or stop entirely.
Uses of Aversion Therapy
Aversion therapy can be effectively used to treat a number of problematic behaviors including the following:
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Bad habits
Addictions
Alcoholism
Smoking
Gambling
Violence or anger issues